In this day and age no reel that costs $100 or more should be "rough" out of the box. It may need to have the settings adjusted, but if it's rough and noisy it's defective and I would return it for a new one. Most manufacturers are making some pretty good stuff today - some may not last as long as others but they should all feel good when they are new. No one should have to "clean" a new reel or replace bearings, etc. to get it working properly.
One thing I have noticed more of lately than every before is a huge variation in the amount of grease put in the reels at the factory. I've seen some that a dozen q-tips don't get it all removed and some that don't look like they were greased at all. This is with Shimano and Lew's. Send the reel to someone that knows how to clean them and you should be happy.
Guys that are talking about how the reels used to be smooth and now suddenly they aren't, those reels need cleaned. If they come from the factory packed in grease, you use the reel for a season or two, and now they don't feel smooth, have packed all of that grease (which is now hardening and collecting dirt) into the gears. Sometimes the gears will clean up fine, other times you have worn that grease and all of the dirt it has collected into the gears. If you use a reel much, the gears should be deep cleaned once a year.
Terry you know I’m a big fan of the PQ2 reels! I have 10 or so and some that are well over 10 years old. My oldest one is on my best jerkbait rod and it’s still going just fine after thousands of fish. It does bother my that my SV has that crunching sound like the gear mesh is too tight in one spot but I only feel it when working a very light lure like a light soft plastic. None of my Type Rs do,it and I love the SV, just don’t think that reel should crunch.Originally Posted by 250bassFL
I have reels from $299 down in price. All different brands. For the money, I am super impressed with the Limited edition pro qualifier 2 reels I got new for $50. I have been exclusively using them jerkbait fishing I believe better than 8 months now. And have boated high numbers of bass with them. Yesterday I could only get bass on jerkbaits. So I was using 2 of them regularly, and it got me thinking. I got 13 yesterday, with biggest over 22". And those reels have just been plain awesome.
2006 Triton SP-185, 2006 Evinrude Etec 90, PowerTech NRS3, Garmin Echomap Plus 73CV & 93SV
Could you please tell me, what deep cleaning a gear involves.
I do the same thing with every new reel, most have way to much grease packed in them from the factory and are much smoother after a good cleaning and proper re-lube.I do this with every reel I purchase, regardless of brand/type... More often than not, way too much goo from the factory.
I didn't know. I recall you mentioned BPS stuff when you went fishing with me. Thought it was JM stuff, like I have alot of.
Either spray something on the gear to remove all oils and grease or run it thru an ultrasonic cleaner. Get all of the used grease off of the gear. Something more involved than wiping it off with a rag. I've seen guys use brake cleaner, the ardent spray cleaner, or a variety of things. Of course, it should be removed from the reel first.
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